


Donnatella

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-04-03
Updated: 2002-04-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 15:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A Cinderella twist to Josh and Donna's relationship





	Donnatella

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

 

**Donnatella**

**by:** Dee 

**Category/Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Rating: MATURE**  
**Notes:** Spoilers thru DIW. 

This is a campy not to be taken seriously fairy tale inspired by the fact that I got caught up watching Cinderella the other night and for a moment was actually worried that she might never get the Prince. Then it occurred to me, ever notice how Cinderella and Donnatella sound a lot a like? 

Warning – this is truly awful! Just me being a little silly.   


Once upon a time there was a King who was surrounded by a band of Princes. These Princes were very loyal to him if a bit mouthy from time to time. They worked tirelessly in service to his reign never once questioning his right to be King even in the darkest of times. 

The King recognized this dedication in his family and wanted to reward them with a gift. To that end, and because his wife was about to have her, not to be mentioned age less his tongue be ripped from his mouth, birthday, the King decided to have a ball. It would be a fabulous ball with men and women invited from all over the Kingdom, from the most powerful lords and ladies to the lowliest of the low... the assistants. 

One assistant in particular was very much looking forward to the ball. After slaving for years for her Prince, doing all manners of thankless tasks, Donnatella was ready for a night of fun. She wanted to wear a pretty dress and listen to the beautiful strings of the band, maybe even ... dance. 

Briefly, she imagined what it would be like to dance in the arms of her Prince, but she quickly dismissed that idea. She was after all just an assistant. And of course he had the Lady Amy. 

Amy was a perfect match for the Prince. She was educated and cultured, smart and strong. She was his equal, his perfect counterpoint. In truth Donnatella should have been happy that he had found such a match, but she wasn't. Despite how perfect for him Amy should have been, deep down Donnatella knew she simply wasn't his soul mate. The notes between them didn't ring harmoniously. Instead of moving fluidly together, they were stilted, their timing was off, and the music between them was often dull. 

Donnatella had watched them together, and there were times she wondered how he truly felt about the lady. But he revealed nothing outwardly to her, and for the most part Amy treated Donnatella as if she didn't exist. She was after all... just an assistant. 

The night of the ball arrived and Donnatella took pride in her knock off designer dress. Despite it's price, it made her feel like a lady. As if she belonged. As if she was wanted. She wanted the Prince to see her in this dress with her hairy shining and a smile on her face. She wanted him, for just a moment, to see beyond the assistant: the girl who typed his memos, answered his phones, did his research, scheduled his day. She wanted him to see her as a lady. 

She stood in her cube and checked her mirror one more time and tried to smile. Even if she did have to watch him dance every dance with Amy, she still planned to have fun. 

"Donna!" 

"What?" 

"Tie!" he shouted from within the confines of his office. 

Donnatella bowed her head. This really was a job for his lady, but habit was habit and he wouldn't understand if she said no. 

She walked into his office and moved around to where sat patiently, his black tie in hand. 

"Hey, you look nice." 

She smiled. "Thank you." 

"Tie it tight. I don't want it coming undone." 

Donnatella bent to the task and performed the chore, her fingers moving of her their own accord. She looked down at her handiwork and straightened it. Then continued to twist it until it was just the right angle. 

"Perfect." 

"Yes, it is." This came from Amy, who was standing in the doorway. She didn't seem pleased, but the Prince didn't notice. He stood and walked over to her and greeted her with a kiss. 

"Wow." 

"I know," she purred smoothing her hand down her dress. She glanced at Donnatella. "Great knock off. I bet no one guesses." 

Donnatella blushed and smoothed her own hand down over her dress. Maybe it was a knock off, but it was hers. 

"I've got to check in with Leo on something. I'll meet you at the reception line." With that the Prince left and the two women were left together. 

Donnatella made an effort to never be in her company alone. She was about to walk out the door when Amy put her hand against the frame and prevented her exit. 

"You actually think you're going to the ball." 

Lifting her chin, desperate to not be intimidated by this woman, Donnatella said simply. "I was invited." 

"A mistake I'm sure. After all you are just an assistant." 

"We were all invited." 

"Yes, maybe they were. But I've discovered something else about you. Something shocking. Something appalling. A secret that could possibly end your career here." She pulled a sheet of paper from her clutch purse and unfolded it. 

Donnatella could plainly see that it was a map. "What's this?" 

"This is where you were born," Amy pointed. "And this is Canada!" 

"No!" Donnatella shouted, shocked at what she was seeing before her. 

"That's right. Not only are you just an assistant... you're also Canadian!" She laughed then, a purely evil viscous sound. "Muah ha ha, muah ha ha." 

"Why are you doing this? And why are you laughing like that?" 

"Because for too long he's been yours. But now he's mine. And you need to go away. Did you honestly think he would take one look at you in your knock off dress and think oh my, I think deep down in my subconscious I might have been in love with Donnatella all this time and not have known it but tonight is the night I'm finally going to tell her?" 

"Sort of." 

Amy scowled. "I've already spoken with the Secret Service. You will not be going to the ball Donnatella. Poor, poor, Donnatella." 

She turned and left and Donnatella sank back into the Prince's office in despair. She'd come to accept her lot in life as an assistant... but as a Canadian! She'd have to learn how to drink strong beer and watch hockey. But on the plus side it was currently cool to be Canadian, and she did look pretty good in a beret. 

No. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Amy got to go to the ball, and she got Josh. What if he married her, never realizing the cruel and heartless woman that she was under all that makeup and badly dyed brown hair. If only Donnatella had a guardian angel. If only she had a fairy godmother... 

"What are you still doing here?" 

Leo? As a fairy godmother? That didn't sound right. But beggars couldn't be choosers. 

"I'm not allowed to go to the ball." 

"Why not?" 

"Turns out I'm Canadian." 

"That's stupid." 

Donnatella shrugged. "Hey, I don't write this stuff, I just act it." 

"You really want to go to the ball?" 

Her eyes filled with tears, she nodded. 

"You're in," he told her. 

"How?" 

"I'll talk to the Secret Service. They'll let you in. But you've got to be out of there by midnight." 

"Why?" 

"Because that's when the shift changes. The new guys won't know that you're allowed to be there." 

"Midnight. Got it." 

Leo turned to leave. 

"Wait, Leo. Since you're sort of playing the role of my fairy godmother tonight..." 

"Yeah, don't let that get around." 

"Could you maybe turn this into a real Vera Wang?" 

"I said I could get you into the party, I didn't say I was a magician." 

"Just thought I would give it a shot." 

So Donnatella made her way to the East Wing and passed by the King's guards, who were guarding the door, with a smile. They nodded to each other and let her in. She spotted her Prince across the floor. He was, as she predicted, in the arms of the Lady Amy and she tried desperately to squash her hurt. 

But as Josh turned Amy in his arms their eyes met across the length of the room. She smiled and he returned her smile and for a brief moment she thought she might have seen some realization in his face. But then Amy was turning him in the dance and the eyes she was meeting were dark brown evil eyes. 

Donnatella actually shuddered. 

"What is she doing here?" Amy hissed. 

"She was invited," Josh told her simply. "Hey, you don't mind if I dance with her once do you?" 

She turned her sickly sweet smile to him. "Of course not. The poor girl probably won't have any other offers for her hand tonight. It's sweet of you to take pity on her like that." 

Josh shrugged. He just wanted to see what it would be like to dance with Donna. 

"If you'll excuse me," Amy said. "I just need to freshen up." 

Amy made her way purposefully across the ballroom. Donnatella spotted her and knew that Amy wasn't finished with her. Spinning around, she needed to hide. She spotted a door that led to a closet. She opened it and shut it behind her, but quickly realized her mistake. The key was in the lock on the other side of the door. 

"Muah ha, ha. Muah ha, ha." 

"Geez, there you go with the laugh again." 

"You're trapped Donnatella. You'll never dance with Josh tonight." 

"Bitch!" 

"Hey, watch your language." 

Donnatella turned around and discovered she was not alone in the closet. 

The First Lady raised her martini glass and took a gulp. CJ, who sat next to her, was giggling over nothing. Clearly inebriated. 

"What are you guys doing in the closet?" 

"Getting plowed," the First Lady informed her. 

"Yep. Hiccup!" CJ laughed. 

Donnatella nodded. "Okay." 

"What are you doing in the closet?" 

"I was hiding from Amy. But now I'm stuck." 

"She doesn't want you to dance with Josh. She's afraid he'll realize that he has feelings for you." 

"But he doesn't. I'm just..." 

"An assistant my ass," the First Lady told her. 

"Hey!" CJ piped up. "Watch your language." 

"I can't help it," the First Lady said. "I curse really well. Want to hear me say jackass?" 

CJ shook her head. 

"You really think he has feelings for me?" 

"As much as you do for him. But you can't see it because you're blinded by your roles. You think he should just be your boss, and he thinks you should just be his assistant. But there's more than that between you." 

Donnatella shrugged. "It doesn't matter. She's locked me in. I'll never dance with the Josh before midnight... and if I don't... they might have to consider making Amy a cast regular." 

"Over my twelve episodes!" The First Lady shouted. She dug into her pocket and extracted a key. She handed it to Donna. "Go get him." 

Donnatella opened the closet and checked around the corner. Amy was nowhere to be found. She stepped out and stepped directly into Josh's path. 

"Hey, there you are. What were you doing in the closet?" 

"Looking for a coat," she replied. "I was cold." 

"You've got a fetish for coats. You know that don't you?" 

Only yours, she finished silently. 

"Wanna dance?" 

"'Kay," she smiled. "You going to step on my toes?" 

"Probably." 

She shrugged. "'Kay." 

He pulled her out on to the dance floor and they whirled and whirled effortlessly to the sounds of the waltz. 

"What happened to Amy?" 

"I gave her the boot," he said casually. 

Donnatellla stopped, then stared at him. "Why?" 

"The shoe didn't fit," he said. "I figured out that she was only using me to her own ends and that she really didn't care about the sensitive man I was underneath." 

"But you're not sensitive underneath," Donnatella reminded him. 

"Yeah, but she didn't know that. You do though." 

"I know everything." 

"Yeah. I kind of like that." 

Donnatella smiled. "Me too." 

"And you looked good in my coat." 

She blushed and fell back into his arms as he moved her across the dance floor. 

"And I really didn't like Amy's voice," he added after a time. 

"Me either," Donnatella concurred. "And her laugh!" 

"I know. It was a cross between the Wicked Witch and Cruella." 

"You mean she wasn't the Wicked Witch?" 

"Very funny. The thing is Donna... I think I really love you. Deep down, I think I always have, but I've let our jobs get in the way of that." 

"I so knew you were going to say that tonight," she muttered triumphantly. 

"Huh?" 

"Never mind. The point is we can put all of that behind us and live happily ever after." 

"Cool." 

"Except there's something I have to tell you." 

"It doesn't matter, Donna. There's nothing you could say that's going to make me change my mind." 

"I'm Canadian." 

"Except that! You're Canadian! Well, hell, I can't marry a Canadian." 

"She's not Canadian." 

"Mr. President!" Donnatella exclaimed as he came up behind them. 

"I just got off the phone with the Canadian President and reclaimed the land in question. Bastard thought he could get away with one, but I told him if he didn't give us that land back, I would invade." 

"For me?" 

"No, for the beer. Unfortunately, he caved. Damn shame." 

The King left them and Josh and Donnatella's eyes met. "I guess this means you can marry me after all." 

"Guess so. But if I do, you're still going to work for me right... because I wouldn't know where to find anything." 

"Of course. This just means that you'll be able to find stuff at home now too." 

"Hey, I never considered that. I've got this baseball hat I would really like..." 

The clock struck and their eyes turned to it. 

"Midnight," Donnatella whispered. "I have to go." 

"Because if you don't, your car turns into a pumpkin?" 

"No, because I want to go home with you and have sex now." 

Josh smiled. "Oh yeah. We're going to live happily ever after." 

And they did. 

The End. 


End file.
